Although I suggest playing the waiver wire all year long, once you perfect the draft, it's hard for even the best waiver wire adds to catch up to that top tier drafted greatness. Honing in on targeted players I was able to create 2 championship teams that rarely subbed out a starter for a waiver wire add, my dad's and mine. I still added each week, maximizing my bench and preventing my opponents from picking up good players. My 2019 success can be duplicated for the 2020 season and after the draft and free agency, I will begin to post for the 2020 season.
Yahoo Draft: 10-team PPR, 2 WRs, 2 RBs, and a Flex
Round 1 Pick 8: Dalvin Cook
Round 2 Pick 13: Travis Kelce
Round 3 Pick 28: Robert Woods
Round 4 Pick 33: Chris Carson
Round 5 Pick 48: Cooper Kupp
Round 6 Pick 53: Mark Ingram
Round 7 Pick 68: Alshon Jeffery
Round 8 Pick 73: Cam Newton
Round 13 Pick 128: Harrison Butker
Through the first 8 rounds, I nailed the 6 starters that skyrocketed me to first place in victories and PPG. A mixture of draft strategy and holistic statistics allowed me to find 3 irreplaceable running backs, the TE 1 on the year, and 2 WRs who each had WR1 stretches at different halves of the season.
I'll briefly touch upon my strategy to find these 6 starters, but for a more in-depth analysis of strategy view my Draft Strategy: Breakdown of 2019 Season article which goes over each argument and thought process I had at each pick. For this team structure, I prioritize RBs over WRs. WRs are usually a deeper class so you can find values off the waiver wire, such as DJ Chark or AJ Brown to fill in as a WR 2 for a few weeks. For RBs, especially this year, that rarely happens.
The biggest bump in RB value I can remember was in 2018 when Nick Chubb became an RB1 after a trade, trade circumstances created his value not as easy as a player simply emerging in an offense.
Because the RB class is shallow in comparison, I try to get 3 RBs out of the top 20 projected RBs. This is an estimation, not an exact count, but look for that line where you see talent drop off in RBs. For Yahoo ADP that meant taking 3 RBs in the first 6 picks, Chris Carson marked off a drop in talent at pick 53. For ESPN ADP that went much earlier, Mark Ingram, the 20th ranked RB, went as high as pick 35. Determining where that drop off is difficult and subjective, many had Sony Michel having a good season and he would have been teetering on that line. Looking at camp talks, past seasons, team opportunity, age, offensive efficiency, o-line ranking, and strength of schedule, I do my best to hone in on where that line is and who is the best value to overachieve within that line.
That usually means a RB in round 1, even at pick 8 this was true for me.
Round 1 Pick 8: Dalvin Cook
Then I grabbed Travis Kelce, who served as a WR 1 but in my TE position.
Round 2 Pick 13: Travis Kelce
You will lose a few points in comparison to a true number 1 WR, but to get that positional value where you almost always win that position and the opponent struggles to find consistency in another shallow class, it is beyond advantageous. And we know WRs are deep, so if you are missing a true WR1 you can make similar points with two WR 2s who have advantageous matchups. With TEs and RBs it is much harder to make up those points off of your bench or the wire.
Round 3 Pick 28: Robert Woods
At round 3 I do grab my first WR before my WR1 starts slipping too far in talent.
Round 4 Pick 33: Chris Carson
My RB2 is my next focus. Carson's Strength of Schedule (SOS) was top 9 easiest, the team's offensive efficiency was top 7 before the fantasy draft, and reports were he outplayed Penny and was starting to add pass-catching to his repertoire in the offseason. His potential for RB1 numbers and his ADP made him the target in round 4.
Round 5 Pick 48: Cooper Kupp
I discuss taking Woods and Kupp in my Draft Strategy: Breakdown of 2019 Season article, but again SOS and offensive efficiency played a major part in targeting the top 2 Ram WRs. Camp reports had those 2 WRs being targeted over Brandin Cooks.
Round 6 Pick 53: Mark Ingram
And lastly, Mark Ingram had the easiest SOS and a top 6 O-line, the team's offensive efficiency was low coming into the year, ranking 21st but his schedule was too juicy to pass up. Brought in as the new starter with an easy schedule, he was the third targeted running back. Between him and David Montgomery, they both had easy schedules and opportunity, but Ingram's schedule put him on top and we saw how that offense exploded and the Bears offense deteriorated.
Below is my tier-based draft Big Board, the numbers in front of players' names are fantasypros.com positional rankings, but the players are placed in the order I looked to draft players. The strength of schedule, O-line, and offensive efficiency were three metrics I really cared about, but as stated above players were viewed in a holistic approach, looking at the whole picture of their situation.
I co-managed in three drafts, to highlight my picks better, my Yahoo draft picks are in purple font, my NFL draft picks in my Dad's draft are in green font, and my ESPN draft picks in Evan's draft are in red font.
Tier 1 SOS O-Line Off Eff.
01Christian McCaffrey CAR 15 9. 15. (11 easiest playoffs)
02Saquon Barkley NYG 22 21. 27. (12 ranked playoffs)
05Ezekiel Elliott DAL 10 1. 18. (30 hardest playoffs)
03Alvin Kamara NO 13 2. 4. (26 hardest playoffs)
Tier 2 SOS O-Line Off Eff.
06James Conner PIT 2 3. 12. (3 easiest playoffs) ***
04David Johnson ARI 6 29. 31. (16 ranked playoffs)
Tier 3
10Dalvin Cook MIN 6 24. 17. (7 easiest playoffs) ***
08Nick Chubb CLE 26 18. 6. (5 easiest playoffs)
07Le'Veon Bell NYJ 4 27. 24. (21 hardest playoffs)
(Wk 16 is 23 ranked but revenge game against PIT)
11Todd Gurley LAR 14 7. 1. (19 ranked playoffs)
TE
1Travis Kelce KC 8 13 5 (14 ranked playoffs) ***
WRs
05Julio Jones ATL (easy CB) 5 16 11 (8 easiest playoffs)
01 DeAndre Hopkins HOU 28 27 16 (8 easiest playoffs)
03Michael Thomas NO (easy CB) 13 2 4 (12 easiest playoffs)
02 Davante Adams GB 17 11 13 (24 hardest playoffs)
Tier 3
RB
09Joe Mixon CIN 25 20. 25. (6 easiest playoffs)
WRs
06Odell Beckham Jr. CLE 15 18 6 (27 hardest playoffs)
(tough CB after wk. 7 bye)
08Tyreek Hill KC 32 13 5 (26 hardest playoffs)
07Mike Evans TB 2 32 14 (29 hardest playoffs) ***
TE
02George Kittle SF 12 21 23 (21 hardest playoffs) ***
RBs SOS O-line Off eff.
018Chris Carson SEA 9 17. 7. (14 easiest playoffs) *** ADP late, can wait until Round 4.
014Aaron Jones GB 16 11. 13. (32 hardest playoffs)
012Kerryon Johnson DET 17 19. 19. (15 easiest playoffs)
017Josh Jacobs OAK 8 15. 20. (27 hardest playoffs)
WRs
010Adam Thielen MIN 10 22 17 (12 easiest playoffs) ***
(harder week 15)
15Robert Woods LAR (3 easy CB) 7 7 1 (15 ranked playoffs) ***
(harder week 15)
016Brandin Cooks LAR (3 easy CB) 7 7 1 (15 ranked playoffs)
(harder week 15)
018Julian Edelman NE (3 easy CB) 20 5 3 (18 ranked playoffs)
(harder week 16)
04JuJu Smith-Schuster PIT 25 3 12 (19 ranked playoffs)
(shadow CB wk 14+15: Peterson + Tre’Davious White but lines up in slot)
14Antonio Brown OAK (tough CB) 19 15 20 (29 hardest playoffs)
(shadow CB wk 15 +16: Ramsey + Hayward)
Tier 4
WRs
012Amari Cooper DAL (6 shado CB) 11 1 19 (5 easiest playoffs)
014Stefon Diggs MIN 10 22 17 (12 easiest playoffs)
(shadow CB weeks 14+15: Slay + Hayward)
09Keenan Allen LAC 21 12 2 (32 hardest playoffs)
RBs
14 Devonta Freeman ATL 32 16. 11. (27 hardest playoffs)
016Leonard Fournette JAC 30 25. 30. (2 easiest playoffs)
TE
03Zach Ertz PHI 22 8 7 (15 ranked playoffs)
WRs
17T.Y. Hilton IND (easy CB) 23 4 8 (1 easiest playoffs)
024Tyler Lockett SEA 6 17 9 (6 easiest playoffs) ***
025Cooper Kupp LAR (2 easy CB) 7 7 1 (15 ranked playoffs) ***
013Chris Godwin TB 2 32 14 (29 hardest playoffs)
023D.J. Moore CAR (easy CB) 1 9 15 (21 hardest playoffs) ***
Tier 5
RBs
019Mark Ingram BAL 1 6. 21. (8 easiest playoffs) ***
022David Montgomery CHI 12 10 10 (12 easiest playoffs)
020Sony Michel NE 24 5. 3. (1 easiest playoffs)
WR
022Allen Robinson CHI 8 10 10 (8 easiest playoffs) ***
021Calvin Ridley ATL 5 16 11 (8 easiest playoffs)
RBs
021Derrick Henry TEN 10 23. 26. (24 hardest playoff)
024James White NE 24 5. 3. (1 easiest playoffs)
025 Duke Johnson HOU 31 31. 16. (17 hardest playoffs) ***
026Melvin Gordon LAC 20 12. 2. (22 hardest playoffs)
WRs
020Kenny Golladay DET 23 20 18 (23 hardest playoffs)
019Tyler Boyd CIN 26 19 25 (22 hardest playoffs)
TEs
06Hunter Henry LAC 1 12 2 (7 easiest playoffs)
4O.J. Howard TB 21 32 14 (2 easiest playoffs)
05Evan Engram NYG 23 21 27 (16 hardest playoffs)
Tier 6
WRs
026Alshon Jeffery PHI (tough CB) 17 8 7 (24 hardest playoffs)
(easier start first 5 wks)
034Curtis Samuel CAR (easy CB) 1 9 15 (21 hardest playoffs) ***
036A.J. Green CIN (tough CB) 26 19 25 (22 hardest playoffs)
(shadow CB wk 14, 15, 16: Ward + Gilmore + Howard)
RB
023Marlon Mack IND 21 4. 9. (24 hardest playoffs)
WRs
028Mike Williams LAC 21 12 2 (32 hardest playoffs)
29Robby Anderson NYJ (tough CB) 27 23 24 (28 hardest playoffs) ***
(shadow CB wk 14 + 15: MIA and BAL)
030Christian Kirk ARI (easy CB) 2 31 31 (19 ranked playoffs)
RBs
027Tevin Coleman SF 3 22. 23. (18 ranked playoffs)
028Phillip Lindsay DEN 18 14. 22. (9 easiest playoffs)
029Tarik Cohen CHI 12 10 10 (12 easiest playoffs)
30Austin Ekeler LAC 20 12 2 (22 hardest playoffs)
031Miles Sanders PHI 19 11 8 (20 hardest playoffs) ***